Patients pay treatment expenses at Nghe An province’s Northwestern Hospital. (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry ofHealth (MoH) plans to halt a planned increase of medical service fees if theconsumer price index (CPI) increases in 2019.
Nguyen Nam Lien, head of the ministry’s Department of Financial Planning, saidon June 4 that in 2019, healthcare costs would be calculated based on theincreased basic salary of 1.49 million VND (64 USD) and management expenses ofmedical facilities.
“However, the change will be based on CPI and socio-economic factors. If thisyear’s conditions are not favourable, the ministry will report to the PrimeMinister to adjust in 2020. Prices for medical services including depreciationexpenses will be applied in 2021,” he said.
At present, healthcare prices are calculated based on a basic monthly salary of1.39 million VND (59 USD) and direct costs for examination and treatment.
Earlier, the MoH issued a circular on payments for healthcare services. Underthe circular, fees for more than 1,900 healthcare services for insured patientswere raised from 3 percent to more than 11 percent at all health facilities inthe country on December 15, 2018.
The circular regulates the pricing solution which calculates examination andtreatment costs as well as hospitals’ plans to reinvest.
The fees were previously calculated based on the basic salary in 2013 of 1.15million VND (49 USD).
After the salary was raised in July, 2018 to 1.39 million VND, the MoH proposedincreasing the fees to cover salaries for medical staff.
Hospital fees, which also go toward management costs, will depend on thebalance of the health insurance fund, meaning they could rise or fall eachyear.
In another development, up to 83 percent of patients are satisfied withservices provided at medical facilities, according to a survey by the MoH of 53central, provincial and university hospitals in 2018.
Meanwhile, 71 percent of some 66,000 calls to the ministry’s hotline from 2016to 2018 were to complain about hospital infrastructure.
To improve patient satisfaction, MoH has issued circulars aiming to shorten theprocess of medical examination and treatment, improve performance of medicalstaff and help patients when they encounter difficulties in hospitals. – VNA
VNA
